Pounding out twenty-six hits and getting a combined eighteen strikeouts from its pitching staff, the Barton Community College softball team dominated Friday afternoon's conference matchup at Legends Park winning 5-0 and 14-1 at Dodge City Community College. The sweep improves Barton to 5-1 in conference play and 28-2 overall while dropping the Conquistadors to 2-4 and 10-10 on the season. The Cougars will take a break from conference action for its next six games, beginning with a 5:00 p.m. Monday doubleheader at McPherson College JV then hosting Williston State College on Tuesday for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader at Cougar Field.
Madison Didion was the story in the opener striking out the first seven and nine of the first ten batters she faced. Pinning the Conqs down by only allowing three hits, the Washington freshman would go on to record a career high fourteen strikeouts and move into the fifth spot nationally improving her record to 15-1 on the season.
The Cougars got all the runs they needed in the second inning as Brittany Wood's leadoff single would score after an error and Jenna Hosey's single up the middle. A one-out Holly Posegate line drive to right added one more for the Cougars' 2-0 lead.
A leadoff third inning double by Maddison Schofield followed by a Cadie O'Donnell single appeared to be stranded in the inning but a two strike passed ball gave the Cougars a gifted run. Posegate would tack on another in the fourth drilling a one-out solo shot to deep center. Barton would get the final run on Jayden Gonzales's sac fly as O'Donnell scampered home after hitting her third triple of the season.
With pitching and a timely eight hits earning the first victory of the day, the Cougars exploded for eighteen hits in the night cap while adding another solid pitching performance. Posegate was center stage for both sides of the action limiting the Conq bats to only five hits and four strikeouts, while nearly matching them with a 4-for-4 performance at the plate including driving in six runs.
Barton wasted little time shelling Conq starter Lindsey Lemmon as the top seven batters all singled to open the game with a Gonzales double mixed in. Chasing Lemmon from the game in the opening frame and bringing in Hannah Feagler, Schofield delivered her second hit of the inning capping the six run first.
Gonzales led off the second with a single and following a two-out walk by Payton Summers, Feagler appeared to be getting out of the inning digging Posegate an 0-2 hole. Protecting the plate and fouling off a pitch, Posegate dialed in on the next one depositing it into the field beyond the left field fence for her second home run of the day and fifth of the year.
Getting her third hit of the game, Schofield led off the third with a single forcing the Conqs to change pitchers to Mia Trujillo. Trujillo got the next two batters out but Wood kept the inning alive joining the three-hit club while sending Schofield across the plate. The Conqs didn't help their cause with an infield error allowing Hosey to reach base because singles by Summers and Posegate would drive home another pair of runs pushing the Barton lead out to 9-0 after three innings.
Posegate didn't have many mistakes in improving to 12-1 on the season but a 1-2 pitch error resulted in losing the Barton double-dip shutout as Hays freshman Kaylie Schoendaller connected to left field for her first collegiate home run.
The Cougars put the game on ice in the fifth tacking on two more runs. Wood singled to lead off the inning followed by a shot up the middle by Kaylie Doll resulting in an extra base on the Conqs' second error of the game. Chasity Ward drove home Wood on a sac fly while Posegate put the final touches on the day with an RBI single to left.
Batting .426 as a team in the doubleheader, the Cougars were led by the 6-of-7 and eight runs batted in effort from Posegate. Schofield was solid at the top of the lineup batting .500 while Wood and Hosey also hit at or above .500 combining for 7-of-13 in the heart of the lineup.